Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman raised some eyebrows when he said ahead of the club’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that dropped Dallas to 5-8 this past Monday night that he expects Mike McCarthy will remain the Cowboys’ head coach in part because “the locker room wants [McCarthy] back.”
As shared by Adam Wells of Bleacher Report, NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic echoed Aikman’s take and said on the latest edition of the “Scoop City” podcast that there is a “feeling around the league” that Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones will run it back with McCarthy for at least the 2025 season.
McCarthy is set to be out of contract following the campaign that likely will end with the Cowboys on the outside looking in regarding the postseason tournament. Heading into the weekend, the NFL’s website gave Dallas less than a 1% chance to make the playoffs. Additionally, McCarthy has guided the Cowboys to just one playoff win over five seasons in charge.
With all that said, one can’t blame McCarthy for the fact he’s had to deal with an injury crisis over the past few months that included quarterback Dak Prescott going down with a season-ending torn hamstring back in Week 9. Prescott and pass-rusher Micah Parsons are among Cowboys players who have publicly campaigned for Jones to retain McCarthy’s services.
Numerous stories previously linked the Cowboys with Bill Belichick before he surprisingly became the new head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels this week. More recently, some analysts have suggested that Jones could target Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel come January.
Interestingly, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pointed out on Tuesday that McCarthy can leave the Cowboys as a free agent following the season. The Chicago Bears, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints could speak with McCarthy after Week 18. He could also decide he wants to take some time off after working under Jones.
In short, Jones may need to give McCarthy an extension sooner rather than later to prevent the 61-year-old from exploring other options this winter.
